


Tricks and a Treat

by ruination_fangs



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, this doesn't actually have anything to do with halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-04 14:59:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16348898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruination_fangs/pseuds/ruination_fangs
Summary: Playing Magilou's assistant in her stupid magic shows isn't really worth the pay, but it turns out to have one unexpected benefit.





	Tricks and a Treat

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea where this came from

"Thank you, thank you!"

Magilou basks in the applause from the audience as much as the confetti raining down from above the stage. Her final magic trick of the night - making that confetti appear from seemingly nowhere, though it's more likely its origin is concealed only by the blinding stage lights.

She bows once, twice, and then gestures grandly across the small stage. "And give it up one more time for my lovely assistant Velvet! She's single, ladies!"

Velvet covers her face with one hand, pretending the flush on her face is purely from the heat of the bright lights. This is absolutely the _last time_ she is performing in public with Magilou.

  
* * *

  
"What? You can't quit! I need you for my act!"

In the dimmer light of their cramped backstage dressing room, Magilou still glows with satisfaction. Velvet all but rips her bow tie off.

"I don't care! This is humiliating. It's bad enough having to do this in front of all those people, and then you keep talking about my personal life! I'm done!"

"But you said you needed the money-"

"Not that badly!"

It's not entirely true. Velvet really _could_  use the money, if nothing else. In the beginning she had agreed to be Magilou's new assistant because her former partner had run off somewhere - or rather, she hasn't been able to find him again since the last time she was taken into custody for disturbing the peace. But Velvet's sympathy has steadily waned, and now she's beginning to wonder if Bienfu's disappearing act might have been intentional.

"Aw, come on," Magilou tries again, "it's not like I'm giving out your address! No harm no foul, right? If you just work on your stage presence a little more-"

"Don't try to pin this on me!"

Velvet is about to go on, but gets distracted by a knock from the doorway, and both performers turn to see a woman peering around the empty frame. She clears her throat.

"Sorry to intrude. I didn't see any security, so I figured it was okay..."

"What's this?" Magilou asks, springing forward. "An adoring fan? If you're looking for autographs, I'll offer you a limited time offer: no charge! Who do we make it out to?"

"Um, my name is Eleanor, but..." The redhead steps into the doorway proper. Her sleek, professional attire is out of place next to Magilou and Velvet's ridiculous magician costumes; Velvet wishes she had taken the damn thing off right away. Before Magilou can scramble for a pen, she goes on, "Actually, I just thought you might like this back."

She holds out a hat, small and lined with Magilou's favorite diamond pattern in shades of purple. Velvet remembers it as one of several Magilou threw out into the audience after using them for a sleight of hand trick.

"Oh, that thing?" Magilou waves a hand. "Keep it. Think of it as a souvenir!"

Velvet sighs deep in her throat, nearly a growl. "This is why you're always broke! Why are you always throwing away your props? This woman was nice enough to return it; the least you could do is save it for the next show!"

Magilou shrugs. "It's already written into the budget as a loss. That's the cost of advertising, Velvet dear! This way they'll remember us." Clearing her throat, she turns back to Eleanor with a grin nearly predatory. "So how about that autograph? Or perhaps a request? Questions, comments, unmitigated praise?"

After a moment's hesitation, Eleanor says, "I do have a question, if you don't mind me asking." Despite Magilou's invasion of her personal space, her eyes fix on Velvet. "Are you really single?"

In reply Velvet stares, wide-eyed and speechless. It's perhaps the most genuine reaction Magilou has ever seen on her - certainly the most shocked, the very picture of disbelief. She wishes she could capture it and show it as an example to all aspiring young actors. Instead, she claps her hands to her cheeks and tries very hard not to squeal.

"Because, um," Eleanor goes on, cheeks starting to match the color of her hair, "if so, someone's missing out on a real catch."

Finally Velvet manages to swallow, and then abruptly turns to the messy makeup table behind her. Shoving away a handful of Magilou's stupid props, she unearths a stack of business cards and a stray pen, and scribbles something on the back.

"Here," she says, handing the card to Eleanor. "Go ahead and leave a message if I don't answer. I need to get this thing off right now, and then I'm going home." With a sharp glance at Magilou, she gathers a neat pile of clothes from a chair and disappears into a back room.

Magilou's excited eyes turn to Eleanor, and she steps back. "I, um, I should be going too, then. It was nice to meet you!"

Before the master magician can launch into any more questions or offers, Eleanor retreats into the empty hall and hurries to a backstage exit. It takes her into an alley, lit by a single-bulb light above the door, and she stops to look at the card.

On the front is advertising for Magilou's Menagerie - available for private parties, professional performances, and public perusal. Eleanor quickly turns it over to look at the back, which reads in neat handwriting a cell phone number and the name _Velvet Crowe_.

She reads it at least three times before she looks up. God, did she actually do that? It just kind of popped into her head - she wasn't intending to bring it up - she got a hot girl's _phone number_. She only came to the show in the first place because she's in town for a conference, and had nothing to do tonight, and kind of wandered in to the first local attraction.

Clutching the card to her chest, she leaves the theater feeling much more exuberant than when she came in. Maybe Magilou's Menagerie really is a little bit magic.

**Author's Note:**

> while I'm on the subject, though, I really kind of want a magician au inspired by The Greatest Showman... magilou running a troupe of misfits, and eleanor as the rich kid who goes out on a limb and sponsors them, only to fall in love with the troupe's mysterious acrobat......


End file.
